1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a magnetic head which is mounted on a hard disk device, etc., and scans a recording surface of the disk by a CSS system or the like and a magnetic head apparatus having the magnetic head thereon, and in particular it relates to a magnetic head capable of achieving reduction in the lift of the magnetic head while enabling the magnetic head to have the floating stability and collisions of the magnetic head with a disk surface to be properly avoided and a magnetic head apparatus having the magnetic head thereon.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 14 is a schematic view of a conventional magnetic head M1 with a surface 1 facing a recording medium and shown upwardly.
As shown in FIG. 14, on an end-face 3 in the trailing side T of a slider S1, a magnetic element 13 made of a ceramic material is formed, which comprises a thin-film recovery element utilizing a magnetoresistive effect and an inductive type thin-film recording element. The magnetic element 13 is covered with a protecting layer 4 made of alumina, etc. Furthermore, on an end-face 4a in the trailing side T of the protecting layer 4, terminal parts 5 connected to the magnetic element are formed.
As shown in FIG. 14, in the substantially central portion of the slider S1 in the trailing side T, an ABS face 6 in the trailing side is formed so as to rise from a surface 1 facing a recording medium toward a disk surface. As shown in FIG. 14, a gap portion G of the magnetic element 13 is exposed from the ABS face 6.
Moreover, the slider S1 shown in FIG. 14 is provided with rail faces 7 and 7 formed from the leading side R toward the trailing side T so as to rise from the surface 1 facing the recording medium. Both the rail faces 7 and 7 are connected together via a step face 8 raised from the from the surface 1 facing the recording medium so as to have the same height as that of the rail face 7.
As shown in FIG. 14, on end faces of the rail faces 7 and 7 in the trailing side, side ABS faces 9 and 10 are formed which are raised from the surface 1 facing the recording medium so as to have the same heights as that of the ABS face 6 in the trailing side.
Furthermore, in the leading side R, a leading ABS face 11 is also formed which is raised from the step face 8 so as to have the same height as that of the ABS face 6 in the trailing side.
As shown in FIG. 15, the magnetic head M1 is elastically supported by a supporting member formed of a flexure 12 and a load beam 14 from the surface opposite to the surface 1 facing the recording medium.
In the CSS system, the magnetic head M1 makes in contact with a disk D at the beginning.
Air flows over the disk surface between the disk and the magnetic head M1 from the leading side R when the disk rotates. Due to this airflow, positive pressure is applied on the ABS faces 6, 9, 10, and 11 so as to float the magnetic head M1.
On the other hand, on the surface 1 facing the recording medium surrounded by the rail faces 7 and 7 and the step face 8, negative pressure is applied so as to absorb the magnetic head M1 to the disk.
Simultaneously with starting of the disk D, a floating force is applied to the magnetic head M1 due to the airflow on the disk surface, so that the magnetic head M1 is floated in an inclined position in which the leading side R is raised from the disk D, and scans the disk surface in a position in that the trailing side T of the magnetic head Ml is slightly floated from the disk D. In FIG. 15, the lift from the disk D to a gap portion G of a magnetic element 13 is indicated by X1.
In FIG. 14, the face exposing the gap portion G of the magnetic element 13 is the trailing ABS face 6 on which positive pressure is applied, and which is formed the highest from the surface 1 facing the recording medium identically to other ABS faces so that the lift X1 between the disk face and the gap portion G of a magnetic element 13 can be easily set to be small when the magnetic head M1 is floated over the disk D. Reduction in the lift X1 has been demanded with recent increasing of the recording density of the disk D.
However, when there are such advances in the reduction of the lift X1, when the magnetic head M1 is inclined in the pitching direction or rolling direction, an edge 6c in the trailing side of the ABS face 6 in the trailing side or corners 6a and 6a in the trailing side T of the ABS face 6 in the trailing side may collide with the disk D so as to damage the magnetic head M1 or the disk surface.
In the magnetic head M1 shown in FIG. 14, there has also been a problem that because in regions on both sides of the trailing ABS face 6 in the lateral direction (X-direction in the drawing), the ABS faces 9 and 10 raised from the surface 1 facing the recording medium are formed, especially when the magnetic head M1 is in a floated position inclined in the rolling direction, the ABS faces 9 and 10 are liable to collide with disk D so as to damage the magnetic head M1 or the disk surface.
The floated position of the magnetic head M1 is determined by a balance between three factors, i.e., positive and negative pressures and an elastic force of the supporting member.
As shown in FIG. 14, however, because the face exposing the gap portion G of the magnetic element 13 is the trailing ABS face 6 directly raised from the surface 1 facing the recording medium on which the negative pressure is applied, and the height of the trailing ABS face 6 from the surface 1 facing the recording medium is very large, the airflow flowing from the leading side R collides with an end face 6d in the leading side vertically extending from the surface 1 facing the recording medium toward the recording medium and the airflow is thereby difficult to be smoothly led to the trailing ABS face 6, so that the floated position of the magnetic head M1 is liable to be destabilized by losing the balance between positive and negative pressures and the elastic force.